Forza Motorsport 7 Review (Xbox One)
Wow! Number seven already.
It only seems like yesterday I was enjoying the pleasure of the first Forza Motorsport release on the original Xbox. Skip forward almost three hardware generations, three spin off titles in the form of the Horizon series, and here we are Forza Motorsport 7.
Conduit for the announcement of the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS and one of the flagship release titles for the Xbox One X due out in November. Nothing like aiming high. But based on the standards set by its predecessors why not. The Forza stable is definitely entrenched as the premier racing title on Xbox. 
OK,so right off the bat let us hit up the elephant in the room. Loot Crates. Every game seems to have them in some form these days with the developers trying to squeeze every cent out of the gamer via micro transactions. So games are purely cosmetic while others can let you pay your way to the top.
Where does Forza 7 fall in the dreaded scheme of things? To be honest, Forza 7 falls towards the worse end of the Loot Crate scale. On the ‘meh, don’t care’ end of things you can unlock driving gear for your avatar, cosmetic changes only. In the middle of the scale sit Mod Cards which can be applied to races for bonus rewards, use enough of these and it is a definite advantage to working your way up the rankings.
Finally you can unlock cars, Legendary cars at that. Now I am not sure if certain cars are Loot Crate exclusive but any way you look at it having to potentially spent real money to get the cars you want is bad. 
Two other areas that have been severely messed with are VIP Memberships and the way cars are locked until you reach the required Driver Level or other requirement. VIP membership no longer gives you 100% reward bonus but only five Mod Cards which equate to 25 races of bonus rewards. But I guess there is no reason to earn the credits as fast as you can to buy your favourite car because if you don’t meet the requirements for the car you want you can’t buy it.
Which means working through the levels just to unlock your favourite ride AND then ensuring you have enough credits to buy it. For hardcore fans this isn’t the end of the word but for more casual players who have a love of certain cars, it will be massive let down. And thing I noticed is the lack of transfer cars from previous Forza titles, another let down.
Right. Enough of the negative. Because as expected Forza Motorsport 7 is yet another top notch racing game. It looks absolutely phenomenal and plays extremely well. Considering it is being pushed as a lead title for the upcoming Xbox One X, I cannot wait to see it running on one. Visuals better than they are at 1080p will be completely mind blowing!
Driving different cars, buggies, and even trucks around famous courses of the world takes completely different approaches depending on the vehicle you are in. To be honest, taking my regular driving tactics onto the track in some vehicles ended in utter chaos. Then again, taking my regular driving tactics onto the track in a regular car more often than not ends in chaos…
There is enough variety in the cars and tracks to keep every racer happy. Coupled with a length single player campaign, free play and the all important multiplayer, there is plenty to keep you going until the next release. The inclusion of some new types of vehicles will be a bit of a change for veterans too. 
Closing Comments.
Forza Motorsport is still at the top of its game and immensely fun to play. But like most Triple A titles these days they need to be very careful with the loot crate model. When one purchases the ‘Ultimate Edition’ they should no be expected to shell out more money within the game. Yes, I understand you don’t have to buy loot crates but if someone is after the ultimate edition of a game it should be just that, ultimate.
It is just so hard to rag on a game when the core gameplay is so sweet. It’s a bit like proposing to your partner but the diamond ring is stuck inside a dog turd. The glitter and sparkle is all there but it is surrounded by crap.
